Heatwave
by SilverStarShine94
Summary: A chance meeting coupled with a series of aggravations... It was just too hot for this. ItaSaku. Non-Mass.
1. Nickname

Heatwave.

* * *

"... I sure do hope you're somewhere with air-conditioning, because it is _hot, hot, hot._"

Sakura shot a slightly bloodshot glare at the obnoxious, flickering screen, positioned directly above a display that consisted solely of wilted cabbages. Glaring down at the pathetically shriveled leaves, she felt mild, simmering exasperation and irritation churning in her gut. Groceries and then kunai - that was all she needed, having already gotten her purchases from the chilled isles.

She might have lingered had it not been chaos down there; sweaty, disheveled shoppers elbowing each other and mulling over whether mild cheddar, or extra mild cheddar would be a better purchase and _blocking_ the whole isle with their giant trolleys while they greedily soaked up the wonderful coolness. It wasn't worth the risk that she might just deck some irritating civilian right in the jaw just to get at the coldest spots. Not at all.

Wiping her hand across her sweaty brow, Sakura attempted to remove the sticky strands of pink hair that stuck like leeches and let out a low, deadly hiss of irritation that had the normally jumpy cashier in shaky fits. His long pale fingers shook so badly that the polythene bags crackled more violently than the firecrackers Naruto had been so fond of shoving into inappropriate places, during one of his more annoying phases.

She actually felt bad for a second, not that anyone could tell from her facial expression.

"That'll be -"

"Yes, thank you-" Here, she thrust some of the creased notes from her pocket at him brusquely, "-And put the change in the ... charity box, or something."

Proceeding to abuse her abilities, she applied a small amount of chakra to the soles of her feet and dodged the sluggish, heat-dazed crowd that lingered between the checkout and the door. Outside it was just the same stagnant, heated air that probably forecasted one hell of a thunderstorm. The small fingers curled around the handles of the plastic bags quickly became uncomfortable and nearing on quite damp.

Sakura cursed her near religious wearing of her gloves - it was just too damn hot. Peeling them off would be an unpleasant, sticky encounter that would be best saved for the cool, breezy air of her apartment - which she would be at within fifteen minutes if she hurried to the general weapons supplier at the end of the road. Her last batch of kunai had gone AWOL during a fight with a weak, but rather sneaky, mercenary group they had fought for the possession of a scroll the other day. The leader's ability to create a magnetic force had been infuriating and had cost her many of her weapons (and the ones that were left ended up completely bent out of shape).

Shifting her bags to one hand as she walked, she managed to count out enough money to buy a full new set - which would boost the somewhat-misshapen, depleted pouch strapped to her thigh. It was quite old and stretched now; the painstakingly stitched initials and cherry blossom motifs dulled with age and discoloured by numerous washing and use. It wasn't like she could afford to replace it on a whim anyway.

The bells above the door tinkled merrily as she stepped into the blissful ... paradise that was the air-conditioned interior. Her tense shoulders sagged as though all of the anger had drained out of them and she took a deep breath of the delicious crisp air.

"Sakura-san, pleasure to see you again," drawled Shuya from behind the counter.

She smiled earnestly for the first time of the day at his slouched form half draped across the worn surface and gestured to their surroundings.

"It feels wonderful in here."

He let out a low chuckle and straightened up enough to look at her properly. She always half wondered why most of the men in her life she admired for their knowledge were like this; lazy, slouching - she saw the way his brown eyes followed her languid movements as she stretched - and complete perverts. With Shuya she didn't mind as much, she supposed. It was almost flattering - in a way. Not at all like Lee or Naruto's I-worship-the-ground-you-walk-on looks.

"Got some new merchandise to try and sell to the ever-so-gullible me?"

"Yeah, you know you're the only one that gets the brunt of my sales talk, Saku-chan."

"Say that again and you'll have whatever it is so far down your throat…"

"Flashing me might even get you a discount," he interjected, a funny half-smile on his face, and dragged his eyes over her form in an exaggerated, almost theatrical, way.

The smile she gave him twisted into a disdainful look as she looked away more than might have been necessary. Someone was certainly upping the charm today - he wasn't normally so forward. Irrationally, she felt her pulse flutter slightly and wondered if today he might arrange to meet her somewhere outside of the setting of the shop. She wondered if she wanted to accept, but then his warm smile, and banter filled her thoughts and took away the doubt.

Stepping forward, she slid behind the shelves to hide the silly smile that had swelled to fill her face, turned the corner and nearly collided with the person walking in the opposite direction. Large hands covered in scratchy gloves clasped her bare forearms tightly as though he - for it was undoubtedly masculine - had expected her to walk straight into him. Sakura's nose wrinkled in distaste, she had been about to move, but obviously he thought her incapable.

Looking up, her irritated words died in her throat as she saw Sasuke's elder brother, Uchiha Itachi, looking down at her with his usual solemn, almost languid, expression. This was the first time she had ever been so close to him - so close she could reach out and trace the deep twin lines of stress that were almost carved into his skin... or give him one good, hard right-hook for treating her like an incapable female.

"You can let go of me now," she told him firmly, after a pause, refusing to allow her gaze to waver.

His hands seemed to tighten minutely before he released her. It seemed as though the very tips of his fingers trailed across her exposed flesh as he withdrew and despite the coolness of the air she felt hot flashes of warmth where the rough fabric had touched her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw goose bumps rise on her skin as the tiny hairs stood to attention and hoped that he wouldn't notice. That was probably futile, it felt like he saw everything.

Just as Sakura was about to speak to break the silence, a silky tenor cut through her thoughts. "I apologize. Please excuse me."

She nodded as he stepped past, irrationally sure that he had brushed against her on purpose. Just as he disappeared around the corner, she caught a quiet "Saku-chan."

It made her blood boil. So much so that she barely paid attention to an outrageously flirtatious Shuya as she paid for and retrieved her purchase, then proceeded fumed all the way down the road.

...

Digging her toes into the soft rug at the entrance of her bedroom, Sakura gave a long sigh and stretched out her heavy limbs. Shopping away, and fans on full-blast - the perfect combination for her only afternoon off before the weekend.

Taking a slow step inside, her finely honed senses suddenly trilled in alarm. A sweet heady smell of perfume - something she never wore - hung in the air around her...

And the beautiful, wispy and sinfully expensive silk dress Ino had been given her on her eighteenth birthday was lying spread across her, now made-up, sheets. A small, folded note written in Ino's own curling hand rested innocently on top of it.

The feeling of foreboding she often felt when faced with some previously unknown – so, anything to do with Ino and her schemes – made itself known.

That dress. That emerald necklace and earring set. Those fancy little knickers and a cute little push-up bra she had never seen before...

Not another blind date - for the love of God!

Memories of pasta being spat across the table at the speed of shurikan; prematurely balding young men; broken straps on dresses – they whirled through her head at full speed.

Summoning all the courage she had developed over years of training and serving as a kunoichi Sakura reached out and gingerly picked up the note as though it was an exploding tag.

_Forehead, I'm disgusted by the lack of __**quality**__ underwear you own. Have I taught you nothing? Honestly, you owe me one for throwing out the worst lot... And getting you that nice new set..._

_Anyway, besides you now having a shopping trip planned (I've written it on your calendar so you can plan ahead! You never have time for your best friend anymore... That doesn't mean I haven't forgotten how anal you are about organization.) you're also going to be attending that party being thrown at the Hyuuga compound tonight. I mean it. Seriously. I'll pick you up at seven and we can go in together - meaning that at least some of the sexy ANBU I know are being invited will have a look at you because you'll be next to __**me.**_

_Shower. Shave. I'll see you at seven._

_Love ~Ino._

Grasping the corner of the tiny piece of fabric that Ino considered appropriate she scrutinized it. Best to wear them really. Ino would check that she was - no, really - if she detected even a hint of a lie in Sakura's voice... It had happened before. Screwing up her nose at the memory, she held them up to her and looked down. Shower first; was the only thought that ran through her heat-fogged brain.

The feeling of foreboding she had felt all the way to the tips of her toes hadn't quite gone away. Oh yeah, something bad was going to happen.

"Something bad" turned out to be yet another blind date. Not with Shuya, not with that cute civilian guy that ogled her as he walked (deliberately) past her every morning on her way to the hospital, and not with any of the aforementioned "sexy ANBU".

"Name's Kaz," he said as he extended a pale, soft hand that looked, and felt like, it had never seen a day of combat.

"Kaz," she repeated, politely, as she delicately clasped his extended hand. It was like holding a slab of meat.

"Short for Kazuo. You're Sakura - right? - have to say; you're much better looking than I expected," he said, smiling between those limp, fleshy lips as though he had given an award-winning compliment. As though she should drop her cute, new panties right there just for that.

And, what could she say to him? "Yeah, you're good looking in a soft, weak kind of way, but your eyes look like someone has stabbed the irises and let all the colour run out - kind of like a dead fish's looks." Of course not.

He had stood up when she approached the table and moved around to pull out the chair for her and carefully slide it back in. Attentive, at least. Good looking, as she had previously thought, in a sort of way. His suit and tie were immaculate right down to the perfectly twisted cufflinks and polished shoes. He worked in a lab somewhere - she had been told. Used to be a ninja, but gave it up for a more academic pursuit.

That was probably a good idea - he looked like he would have been long dead by now, had he stayed.

Running her finger around the edge of her glass, she caught Sasuke and Naruto murmuring conspiratorial from the corner - shooting glances at her every now and again. They were no doubt plotting some scheme to separate her date from her, she knew what they were like; howling for blood when any man got close... Not that she liked this Kazuo particularly; it was just simply the principle.

She was a grown woman, and should be able to choose whomever she wanted - even this weak, little man.

"Ino told me you worked in a lab..." she began, dragging her eyes up to his face.

His chest puffed out a little at that.

"Yeah, we're the ones who work on the latest variety of soldier pills that are used out in combat–"

It jolted out of her before she could stop it. "Do you miss it? Combat, I mean?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, before running a hand over his hair, throat contracting a little.

"It's dirty work out there – hard too. It's just not right for me."

Her opinion of him dipped a little more.

"Anyway, we've been developing a new kind, one that works twice as long with less repercussions. I've just been promoted..."

Sakura let his words wash over her in a warm, comforting swell of syllables and sounds as her eyes went back to drifting across the room every time he wasn't looking. Shame he just didn't meet her standards because it had been a long time - _since we've gotten any action in a while, _said a sly voice. That too, Sakura snorted inwardly. There was never much time to seek companionship between the hospital, the missions, and her boys...

Speaking of which, she saw they were now gone. Vanished. That deep, prickly feeling of foreboding she had felt earlier trickled all the way down to her toes. Oh, yeah, something was going down – and it wasn't just her opinion and respect of this dullard blabbermouth.

Hours seemed to pass and all he did was talk, talk, talk with only her occasional input of "mhmm", "oh yeah?", and "really" to spur him on. It was so warm in here, but not the kind of cloying heat that was almost choking earlier. Instead, a warm, heady, near womb-like feeling of being encompassed in heat, coupled with the dim lights and the comfy chair, let her drift pleasantly off into some place where he wasn't there and talking.

What she wouldn't give for a little interference from one Blondie and Pretty-Boy about now - screw her earlier thoughts; she loved them and their meddling, infuriating ways.

A hand lightly touched her shoulder just then, and she became aware that Kazuo had stopped talking. Glancing over her shoulder, she met the wide, wicked grin of Uchiha Shisui with a full, curved smile of her own, thanking whatever deity had been listening to her silent plea.

"Got a little situation brewing, Medic-san. Need your expertise to see to our … somewhat _reluctant _Taichou."

Ohh, Kakashi always was such a pain - never wanting medical attention, having to be dragged to the hospital... The air of mischievousness (you know, the I'm-going-to-raise-hell beams that radiated from Shisui at all times) seemed magnified somehow. Sakura supposed he was just enjoying the fact that Kakashi was soon going to be suffering a full medical examination. He was a sadistic git like that.

"Sorry, Kazuo-san, duty calls," she chirped, almost too cheerfully.

Cue mad dash to escape- I mean… To see to her patient-in-need.

_..._

They moved through the trees at a relatively fast pace for a few moments wherein Sakura simply enjoyed the refreshing feeling of moderately cool air washing over her features. Thankfully, she was as pedantic and prepared as usual, thanks to some sliding (well, _cramming_was probably a better word for it) a pair of the standard, shinobi sandals into the cerise silk handbag she had brought with her.

"So, Sakura-san, who was the civilian comb-over connoisseur you decided to lower yourself to be seen with?"

"Ex-shinobi."

He raised a single, angled eyebrow at her and let out a snort at her hastily placed serene expression.

"Fucking coward then to boot. Aiming for the sky, I see."

She looked at him sideways, his pale sharp features easily found in the darkness. There was malice there, and not just the sort of playful kind he usually exuded (if that wasn't an oxymoron in every sense of the word; playful malice). This was real and somewhat vicious.

"It was a blind date," she replied, wishing she wanted to defend the man, but lacking any enthusiasm for the idea.

"You tell me next time you're dateless. Can't have such a pretty girl with such trash. There's plenty of good, _ninja _men I know that would love to sit across from your gorgeous ass," For the second time that day, her heart jumped a little irrationally - even if the compliments were wrapped in a layer of chauvinistic asshole-ness.

Taking a swipe that deliberately only brushed his spiked hair she grinned at him, "You're such an elitist, it's hardly even funny."

When they started to angle towards the general direction of the Uchiha Clan Grounds rather than Kakashi's apartment, or the hospital, as she had expected her mind began to whir into motion. Sharpening her eyes, Sakura picked out tell-tale signs of strain and worry in Shisui's expression and the general movements of his body. His earlier comments were probably just his idea of an emotional defense; Uchiha tended to be severely constipated in the emotions department. Just look at Sasuke...

It wasn't Kakashi they were going to see, not Sasuke - she had just seen him. The hospital was still open at this time... Whoever it was should have gone there. She had expected it to be someone she knew well, because being treated by a stranger in your own home was surely the same as being treated in the hospital.

They passed the walls without shinobi swooping at them from all directions and mind-fucking her, with those crazy eyes of theirs, into a little ball of nothing, or reducing her to ashes with a well-placed Katon, so she supposed Shisui had cleared her admission with the aggressively bureaucratic Clan Elders.

"Who…?"

He just looked tired as she started to speak, leading her into the seemingly empty house. Despite the Uchiha and the Hyuuga being rivals to the core, they still invited each other to their formal get-togethers. Purely for showing off purposes, of course.

"My baby cousin, of course."

_His baby _cousin_? _That was his beyond amusing nickname for Sasuke when he was in a bad mood... Apparently, it was not just restricted to the younger of the siblings.

Shisui's expression tightened a little as he spoke quietly, "Look, Sakura, you're the only one I could ask... He's not so bad - doesn't bite, I promise -"

"Shisui..." murmured a suddenly present voice; one that was far too close to her to be entirely comfortable. The aforementioned shinobi whirled around to glare at his cousin venomously, completely ignoring the somewhat hostile expression on the younger's, normally blank, face. "Don't you fucking look at me like that, Itachi. If you bled to death, whose balls would your Mother rip off and stuff down his throat? I'll tell you whose: _mine_."

"I have taken the proper procedures, and applied a few minor healing techniques; it will be fine," he supplied, blandly.

Elite shinobi and their complete disregard for their own health was a major irritation for Sakura. Pointedly narrowing her eyes at her "patient" she debated speaking and reasoning over leaping at him now. She wasn't in the best of moods with this one anyway - having called her that _ridiculous, mortifying _nickname only a few hours prior. However, if he mentioned that in front of Shisui, he would be a dead man – prodigy or not.

"You're kidding, right? I can still smell the blood. Hell, I've seen the damn thing," Shisui grumbled.

Deciding that it was time to intervene, she finally spoke up, "This will only take a few moments, Uchiha-san. If you co-operate now."

It was though he hadn't noticed her before, which obviously wasn't true, because suddenly his eyes were all over her. Perhaps time had already dulled the memory of having his full gaze; that intensity and deep concentration all focused on her at once. If he had his Sharingan on, Sakura was sure that with just a look alone he could have paralyzed anyone. An eternity passed in a moment when his gaze met hers and held her pinned in place.

"Very well."

The smile she gave him was one of relief and quiet amusement as she saw Shisui sag somewhat - obviously having been prepared to fight tooth and nail to get his cousin the proper medical attention. The unexpected concern was sweet, Sakura supposed. She had never seen much - if any -affection in this Clan, save for the love that almost seemed to radiate from every fibre of Mikoto's form.

"Unless you're willing to accompany me to the hospital the best place would be a bathroom." Easier to clean, less likely to have bacteria lingering on fabric surfaces, easy access to water...

Itachi turned on his heel and walked, expecting her to follow him like some obedient little puppy. Normally, she would have scornfully pointed this out, but Sasuke would no doubt be distraught if his beloved Aniki were to bleed to death on her watch. So, for that, she was silent.

"Tea would be pleasant."

A snort was the reply to that calm remark as Shisui acidly fired back, "If you can still be thinking about goddamned _tea,_ you're obviously not half as bad as I thought."

The somewhat tense air that seemed to have surrounded the meeting - the entire grounds were hostile here, even the air seemed to hiss 'outsider' - dissipated somewhat after that exchange. She shot an aggravated Shisui a sort of half-smile before following her charge upstairs to a large, spacious, tiled room. As he was walking she watched and saw how he almost seemed to stalk forwards - the sinuous movements of a well-trained body could be described as nothing less.

"Where are you wounded?"

"The lower back," was his clipped reply, sharp only in its length rather than delivery. She could have sworn he seemed less tense now that they were alone.

"Shirt off then, and we'll get this done quickly."

Slipping into "medic-mode" was as easy as breathing. This profession was what she lived for. _Especially with views like that. _Blinking like a stunned deer in the face of an oncoming vehicle she absorbed his perfect, lean torso and well defined arms in the space for a heartbeat and cursed herself acidly for her schoolgirl behavior every second. Taking matters into his own hands he turned and presented an equally visually pleasing back - the lithe body of a mid-ranged fighter pleasing to look at...

(Probably even more so to feel.)

"I'm surprised you gave in so quickly," she said to break the silence.

The shining whiteness that surrounded them gave the scene an even more surreal feeling. Standing in an Uchiha bathroom in a fancy dress, behind a wounded, shirtless Uchiha Itachi, remorseless killing machine, who was currently perched on the closed lid of a toilet - seemingly completely willing to let her paw him. Odd didn't even cover it.

"You wouldn't believe my reasons if I told you."

Clear as crystal - just like his brother.

"That sounds like it should make me wary."

"Probably," came his vague agreement.

She was sure he was looking at her over his shoulder now, watching her bend over and probably seeing a glimpse of the cute push-up bra meant for someone else's eyes entirely. _Suck on that Ino-pig. _Kazou would have said something, Itachi did not.

"Move your hair, please."

She might have liked to run her fingers over it, but that completely overstepped any and all boundaries that casual, we've-never-properly-spoken acquaintances should have. Besides, if what Sasuke had said earlier was anything to go by, he'd probably just drown her in the sink if she tried and casually mention the fact that her body was cluttering up the bathroom to Shisui over tea. Well-bred, nickname-using asshole: that's what he was.

It wasn't a life-threatening gash, she mused as she peeled back the blood spotted bandages wound around his torso in a semi sloppy way - but only a trained eye would think that. It would scar if left alone, possibly get infected, but definitely restrict his movements. Making a soft hum to herself, she delicately probed the inside and the ragged edges, checking for any foreign particles that could potentially cause any sort of problem.

Knitting together the flesh and muscle was a practiced move that came so easily to her, she barely thought about it now. Other wounds marked his shoulders and back - pale silver flecks that caught the light, resting on marginally less-pale skin. Despite his colouring, there was nothing about it that made him seem fragile – in fact, it was just the opposite. It was warm even in there and the use of chakra heated her up even more so.

Her silk dress began to cling to her thighs, stomach and chest as she perspired even more. There was a sheen of sweat even on his skin, it would make him taste salty and musky and delicious. Slapping herself viciously mentally she stood up properly and moved to wash her hands at the sink - unaware of the eyes that followed the smooth curve of her spine and noted the outline that could be seen through the flimsy dress.

"All done," she declared unnecessarily, thankful he was so co-operative and that the wound was on his back, so he couldn't watch her eye groping him.

"Thank you for your assistance," was his reply after a pause.

Maybe she liked him a little better now, and could forgive him for his earlier name related slight. (Not just because he was some serious eye-candy mind - she had _some_ morals).

"You'll stay for tea." It wasn't phrased like a question.

"I'd like that," she replied softly.

Anything to wash the taste of yet another god-awful date with a silly little man.

"Good," he murmured, that single word and the look he fixed her after that holding more sensuality than anything anyone had ever said to her before.

She had thought her pulse had sped up when she spoke to Shuya and Shisui earlier... Now it was racing. Coupled with the dark, close heat as they moved through the darkened halls and the sound and smell of him that hung in the air, and it was intoxicating.

The heat indoors was unbearable, so the three of them sat outside in the darkened gardens. Sakura peeled her stockings from her feet and wiggled her toes eagerly before dipping them into the cool water of the pond that dominated a large section of the garden. She was oblivious to the two sets of eyes watching this movement. In this heat Sakura wondered why the hell they were drinking hot tea of all things.

Huffing to herself, she drank it anyway, if only for the look on Itachi's face when he sipped the beverage - the way his intense eyes - mere pinpoints of light in the heavy darkness around them - focused on the drink, and then shut while he drank as though in ecstasy. When she caught herself wondering what she would have to do to get him to look at her like that she shook her head viciously and cursed the numerous glasses of warm wine she had downed earlier to try and drown the boredom.

"One of us should walk you home, hmm?" Shisui said at some length. None of them knew what time it was, but it was late.

"Afraid for my girlish innocence?" Sakura teased lightly, flicking water at him with a speed that was twice as startling, being juxtaposed with her languid tone.

He laughed at her then, the sound low and relaxed. Standing, he offered a hand that she accepted and squeezed a little tightly on purpose.

"You can walk me to the gates, I wouldn't put it past your maniac relatives to try and assassinate me."

Turning, to Itachi - who she would never have thought she could have shared such an enjoyable evening with; what with his reputation and Sasuke's frequent horror stories about serial forehead-poking and the general emotional-fuckwittage.

"Goodnight, Itachi-san."

He gestured with his re-filled cup and spoke calmly, "Sleep well, _Saku-chan."_

Shisui choked on his own spit.

...

...

He was a _dead _ridiculously sexy man.

...

...

* * *

Written during the crappy snow and ice besieging a few weeks previously when all I wanted was a little unseasonable July weather. Next chapter will be out soon... hopefully.

Beta'd by the lovely Sakura4eva.


	2. Three's a crowd

**Heatwave.**

* * *

"_Saku-chan. _My darling, my angel, it is beyond agony to part with you."

The air around her almost crackled with electricity. Having been denied the pleasure of gutting one Uchiha Itachi, she was beyond eager to vent her frustration on one of the many men who made her life one big, fat, irritation. That, coupled with the anger at the fact that Itachi had fended her off with just a _finger_ on her forehead, would make her a very, _very_ dangerous person to be with.

"Stop following me," Sakura hissed, as she attempted to stalk away in her drenched dress.

Shisui obviously had no sense of self-preservation. "What would make you say such a thing, cupcake?"

None whatsoever.

"_Shisui!"_

"Yes, love muffin?"

"_Love muffin?"_ she shrieked back, on the border of hysteria.

He stopped and gave her an appraising glance. Him; still in his perfect, un-creased shirt and formal trousers with his suit jacket slung far too casually over his shoulder. Her, hair plastered to her skull and dress sticking as close to her as the skin she was born in - so close she knew he could see every outline, every contour. She may as well have been naked. Shisui kept walking even after she had stopped; rage having made putting one foot in front of the other a horrendous challenge.

Looking back over his shoulder, his face was calm and almost bored looking suddenly.

"You're angry that he pushed you in the pond after you went for him."

Silence.

"With his finger."

Furious silence.

"Without spilling his tea."

Silence proceeding brutal stiletto related murder.

"Did you know he has pink boxers?"

The furious expression on her face melted away like ice-cream would on the sweltering-hot pavement beneath her feet. She struggled for a few moments, but it was in vain as she dissolved into muted laughter. That fact alone was almost infuriating enough to make her go at him with the kunai strapped to her thigh. As it was, she just took the jacket he had proffered and slung it over her wet shoulders to hide her cute, now fully visible, push-up bra. They walked along silently together, past the boundaries that marked the Clan compound.

"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" Sakura muttered finally, when they drew to a halt just past the gates.

The look of smug satisfaction - the cat-that-got-the-cream expression - on his face made her want to claw it off.

"Never."

They stood for a moment in the warm darkness together before she turned and looked him in the eye.

"Does Itachi _really_ have pink boxers?"

Putting over his heart, he grinned,"Yessir, due to an unfortunate washing mix up (that may, or may not, have involved my red sweatbands and his white underwear). Tight bastard won't throw out anything that's still serviceable though.

"I also think that you should mention that to a certain other baby cousin of mine."

"Sasuke...? Why would I do that, Shisui?" His games were far too fun – damn him for making it so easy to go along for the ride.

"Hmm, _well_," the wicked look on his face should have been illegal..."How would Sasuke think you came to know that, hmm?"

Putting her index finger to her pursed lips, she considered it with a deep frown creasing her large forehead. "How, indeed... I think I would have to have–"

"–Seen him in them, perhaps...?"

... ... ...

"Forehead, what the hell happened last night?" hissed Ino, hands firmly on her generous hips, deadly gleam in her eyes.

Sakura continued to sip her icy cool smoothie with what she would consider a calm, dignified expression on her face. Well ... as calm and dignified as one _can_ look with their lips wrapped around a hot pink straw. Ino sidled into her seat in the manner of a deadly femme fatale and quickly flagged down an overly-eager waiter in order to ask for a low-fat, soya milk latte. Her eyes were like two hard shards of glittering ice.

"'It's far too hot for a coffee, Pig."

"Don't change the subject," she snapped, waving her bright red nails like a warning sign.

Sucking petulantly on her smoothie Sakura waited grimly for the ax to fall. Ino took every failed blind date as a personal insult. The fact that she had actually ditched Kazuo would have made her blond friend furious beyond belief.

"You left." Those two words held more menace than any number of death threats.

"Medical emergency."

"Don't you give me that "medical emergency" crap, Billboard Brow. Is this the thanks I get for trying to get you laid?"

"Ino!" One of the elderly women at the other table looked like she was about to faint.

She gave a ridiculously theatrical pout and began to daintily sip at her coffee without smudging her coral lipstick even a little. Sakura examined her chipped, pea-green nail polish with interest - noting the dirt crammed beneath the nails and promising to deal with it the moment she got home. Preferably with a lovely cool bath and a nice rom-com book that didn't require any higher brain functions.

"You'll never believe who I had to go and treat though, Pig."

Against her friend's will, she saw Ino's gossip antenna perk up a little. The waves of killing intent she had been giving off lessened a little as she looked over with her over-plucked eyebrows raised as high as they could possibly.

"Oh?"

Sakura actually felt a little smug for once - being on the other end of the ridiculously-hot-man-story. Even if it did involve the sub-human, name calling, Uchiha Itachi – asshole extraordinaire.

"Uchiha Itachi." She hid her smile by sucking on her smoothie.

Ino slapped her hands down on the table with a look of glee on her fine features. Kazuo was history in the mind beneath all that silky blond hair. She would never be set up with that bore again. The "details, details" look on the blond's face was somewhat reminiscent of a starving wolf staring at a giant, raw steak.

"Mhmm, and I have to tell you, Pig, he is one _fine_ specimen."

"How much did you see?" Her voice had lowered to an almost breathless whisper.

"The whole top half. The muscle definition... Drool-worthy."

Suddenly, Ino's eyes were no longer focused on Sakura, rather behind her. That same ominous tingling feeling she had felt last night buzzed around her spine. Sakura felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck bristle as hot breath washed across the sweaty skin of her nape, exposed because of the fact that her hair was tied up and in a bun.

"Is that so?"

"Shi- _Shisui. _It's so good to see you." Whatever she had done, she surely didn't deserve this.

"Saku-chan? I didn't know that you and my baby cousin had gotten so far. Then again, you do appear to have coordinated your underwear with his..." His height gave him something of an advantage, she was sure he could see straight down her shirt's sweetheart neckline.

"What are you talking about, I'm wearing _green_–"

Too late did she realize what she had said. Ino's expression was one of rapture. The special portion of her cerebellum completely devoted to storing juicy gossip was whirring into motion, and nothing would stop her from sucking Sakura dry of every detail now. By the end of the day, everyone would be bound to think that she was engaged to Uchiha Itachi and pregnant with his psychotic spawn.

"–And he wears pink, I know. My mistake. Perhaps you only matched the bottom half?"

"Would you like to go in for a closer inspection?" Sakura muttered through clenched teeth, willing him to come closer so that she could crush his skull in her bare hands.

"Maybe later," he gave a saucy wink, moving a little further away from her. "I have training, I'm afraid – I just came in to get lunch beforehand."

Waving his take-out in front of them, he bowed fluidly and then escaped with a speed befitting his title; Shisui, the Body Flicker. The list of "Painful ways to kill people" Sakura had always favoured in these kinds of situations popped up in the forefront of her mind as a kind of defense mechanism for her sanity. She sucked the bottom of her glass clean before daring to turn and glance at Ino.

"I have to go and train now," she ventured.

Reaching out, Ino placed her manicured fingers carefully atop Sakura's hand - the tips of her pointed nails digging into several veins. To an outsider, this might look like a comforting gesture.

"We'll talk on that underwear shopping trip we have scheduled for tomorrow."

Her words may as well have been a death sentence.

... ... ...

Sensing a presence behind her, Sakura turned minutely to glance at the person approaching the long-range kunai targets ... and nearly dropped the kunai in her hand from a mixture of shock, irritation and a little (a _tiny _little – miniscule, really) bit of excitement.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted out, without thinking; such a stupid mistake. "I mean... I thought the Uchiha had their own training grounds..." _Rich, elitist bastards that you are._

"That does not mean I am prohibited from using the other training grounds," Itachi replied mildly.

Sakura watched him hit every target with barely a flick of his wrist, nor a drop of sweat forming, and hated him for it. The heat bore down in sticky, claustrophobic waves on all sides as she too practiced her aiming. All the while, her eyes were dragged back to him as though by a magnetic force; watching the fluid movements of his arms and the muscles contracting and relaxing beneath his pale skin, and dragging her eyes across the tiny slivers of stomach and back exposed when his top flipped up the slightest amount in particularly forceful throws.

She swallowed heavily a few times – willing herself to just get a goddamned grip. As a medic – and as a shinobi – she had seen more than enough fully naked, perfectly toned, male bodies, so it was beyond ridiculous that this small encounter was having such a big effect on her. Pressing her mouth into a thin line, she gave a particularly vicious throw that left the kunai so deeply embedded in the tree behind the target that she would, no doubt, have to tear it to pieces to retrieve the weapon.

"You should really relax a bit, Sakura-san. You will hurt yourself if you continue like that," he murmured, tongue coiling around her name and almost caressing it - the mortifying nickname thankfully unseen.

Itachi was behind her, she knew. She could feel the heat of his breath - stronger even than that of the glare of the sun and the stale air around her - lightly washing across the exposed skin at the back of her neck. The hairs on her arms rose up and a prickling sensation tingled through her tense muscles as she picked out his slow, even heartbeat.

"It's just you... I make a point not to trust those of your Clan." _Especially that little prick Shisui._

He made a throaty noise that might have been a chuckle that sent a sharp jolt of heat right down to the pit of her stomach that she didn't want to try and identify.

"Wise of you."

With a flick of her wrist she hit the target dead on again, pretending his presence didn't bother her.

"Is there something you want?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Want?" he echoed. "Perhaps ... that should be left to another time."

Spinning around in a flurry of pink hair she found him about two steps away - two very _small_ steps away. His eyes were fixed intently on hers now, but with her innate female intuition she felt he had been looking somewhere else entirely a few seconds prior. If Sakura wasn't mistaken... Sasuke's very intimidating elder brother was flirting with her. A terrifying thought. Suddenly, she was far too aware of how small her shorts were and how much she had pulled down the zip of her top to try and get some air on her sweaty skin.

"Well, can you _perhaps_ get out of my personal space. I can hardly train well with you hanging over my shoulder."

"That is true," he conceded politely, but didn't move.

Maybe it was the heat playing tricks on her eyes, but it looked like his were lightening a few shades. A sure sign of a very early stage of Sharingan. Her spine stiffened as she tested the air between them and found it heavy with chakra - unactivated. He seemed ready to spring a genjutsu on her at any given moment... Why? Her analytical mind whirred and considered the options; fight or flight – or something else entirely...

Shoving that thought away she narrowed her gleaming eyes at him.

"Is this another tactic to humiliate me, Uchiha-san? You did so quite well last night."

Jerking her arm, she hurled the kunai with enough force to add another split in the target and the tree. Her arm tingled a little as the muscles strained and pulled. The fact that she had forgone a warm-up in favour of simply working out her frustrations was showing, and she cursed that fact.

"You are offended by being perceived as close to me - as I implied with the usage of a nickname?"

"_Yes_, actually. Especially when I am not close to you, nor have any desire to be so. The fact that you pushed me into the pond might also have something to do with it."

There was a tense moment that seemed to stretch minutes when the line of his thin lips tightened a fraction and he took a single, measured step forward. Despite the heat Sakura felt something; a chill, a spark, a tingle. Too close, she thought, but not touching. If she leaned forward a little she could rest her head just beneath his collarbone and with an absolute, sudden certainty she knew their bodies would fit together like pieces in a puzzle.

"That's the first lie you've ever told me," he said, quietly, in that even voice of his.

She felt his chakra buzz around her and her mind drew up an answer even as she let out a skeptical snort and dropped her eyes from his gaze. He couldn't predict her. She had felt this kind of chakra before; mood-monitoring. A special favourite of one Morino Ibiki. His mild Sharingan activation; a device to monitor her body language down to the most minute detail. Sakura felt a rush of pride and power at the realization that he saw her as a wild card.

Turning around, she threw one of her last kunai.

"It is ... not polite in the slightest to turn your back on someone in the middle of a conversation, Sakura-san."

"Oh really, Uchiha-san? I was courteous enough when I asked you to move, but you chose not to," she hissed.

"If you answer a question of mine, I'll leave you be."

His words came close to her ear and she knew he was reveling in the goosebumps that had sprung up on the back of her neck. Some hideous little part of her felt exhilarated.

"There is an event of sorts in the Clan Grounds a week from now. I would like for you to accompany me."

Sakura choked on the air and promptly dropped her kunai. "_What?_"

He looked at her like she was the stupidest thing to wax lyrical on the stupid side of stupid. It was amazing how much ridicule Sakura could detect in his dead-pan expression. Years upon years of putting up with Sasuke had given her that skill, most likely.

"I said–"

"Look, I heard, but it's not what you said. It's _what_ you _said_!" He looked both mildly disgusted and confused. " Did Shisui put you up to this?"

"No, he did not." There was a note of irritation and don't-go-there in his voice.

"But ... then why? Who? _What?"_ It seemed her revered intellect had abandoned her before this ridiculously handsome man.

Something flickered in his eyes before he moved downwards slowly to pick up her kunai and put it back in her lax hand - curling her small fingers around it with his own. Despite the heat, his hands were cool, but they had a slightly worn feeling to them and were covered in callouses. His nails were closely cropped and clean.

Sakura wanted to scratch out his windpipe for a reason she couldn't quite identify.

"I barely know you," she spoke - more softly than she meant.

He didn't let go of her hand even when she gave a gentle tug on it.

"I am required to bring someone … of female company."

"So you chose me." Sasuke would be annoyed if she said yes; then he wouldn't have anyone to go with who wasn't likely to maul him with kisses.

Vaguely, she wondered why she wasn't angry - or feeling anything in particular. He may as well have declared her 'Most-tolerable-woman'. Considering the fact they had spoken properly for the first time just a day prior, she felt something close to pity and knew he could feel it because of his jutsu.

She saw his eyes narrow and felt delight flaring. It would be amusing to see if she could crack him.

"If you are willing." That mollified her somewhat - she was used to the ol' grunt and drag method once favoured by cavemen.

"Sure, that would be... fun."

Awkward, awkward - trilled her mind. Sakura wondered why she was suddenly so tongue-tied and air-headed. She blamed the hot weather (nothing to do with the hot man, of course).

"I will pick you up at your home around seven – if that is agreeable."

All she could do was nod and feel as though she was composed solely of noodles. The heat had never gone down well with her - it burned her fair skin and sapped her energy. By this time of the day, she was normally exhausted by it. His nerve-wracking, over-bearing presence didn't help in the slightest.

Giving her the slightest incline of the head, Itachi released her hand and walked off. Apparently, he had used up his "people time" quota of the day.

It took her another five minutes to realize that he had never been to her house, and she hadn't told him where it was.

Sakura managed to split the tree clean in two with the force of her throw.

The urge to claw out his windpipe had come back with a vengeance.

... ... ...

Two nights after that dizzying conversation, Sakura found herself balanced precariously on the tilting, round table. She was also completely (and quite happily) oblivious to the fact that Naruto was craning his neck in an attempt to see up her short, swishy skirt. However, his head was at an angle that made him exceedingly dizzy and likely to vomit at any time now, considering how much alcohol he had downed in the last half hour. He would have said that it was worth it, had someone asked.

The third member of their party - one Uchiha Sasuke - was similarly intoxicated and sported a bright swatch of red across his normally pale cheeks to prove that fact. Why Sakura felt the need to stand on the table as she was – swaying ridiculously and giving him occasional glimpses of underwear (pale pink with bows on the sides) – did not make sense to him at all.

"You're making a fool of yourself, Sakura," he groused, clamping onto one calf and trying to drag her back down.

Her muscles bunched under his fingers as she tugged herself away and kept singing to that god-awful music they were playing. Hissing insults at her might be better, he thought – clearly not rational thinking.

"I can see your underwear, Sakura. I _know_ it's pink."

She stopped swaying as Naruto let out an both indignant noise and a half-chuckle at his comment.

"Well, _Sasuke-kun_, you know who else's underwear is pink, huh...? _Your brother's." _She hissed back, the gleeful look on her elf-like face was impish and entirely infuriating.

All of the blood in his body seemed to rush up to his head and cloud his eyes with a bright haze of red. His sluggish thoughts didn't stop the anger and disgust that welled up inside him at the thought of his giggly, pink-haired, monstrously-tempered teammate and his manipulative, cold-fish of an older brother in an intimate situation.

"...You didn't," he half-whispered, half-growled, slamming his palms into the table as he stood and sending her sliding towards him.

He could see down her top now as she leaned over, but it didn't mean a thing given the amount of times he had seen her in various states of undress while she was injured over the years. Naruto was taking advantage of this new position to improve his "view" and nearly having a heart attack while he was at it. She was grinning, and Sasuke could see the spark of challenge clearly in her eyes.

Inwardly, the young Uchiha felt a snap, a pang, at the thought of his ever-winning elder brother taking – _winning_ – something else and grinding him into the dirt once more.

"Hmm...? And what if I did-did-did?" She said, rolling her tongue over the word with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

There was a tense silence that was punctuated by the appearance of the always-tardy forth member of their party.

"Late as _use-youuuu-alll_, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto hollered - oblivious to the bloodbath about to commence.

"Jeaaalouss, Sasuke-kun," she mocked, in a furious whisper.

She wasn't angry at him, really. Not for going out with that hideous Karin transfer woman from the dissolved state of the Sound, who had come to join Konoha with many other refugees. Really. Not even with the fact that they were supposedly on a break from dating. A break didn't mean he could swan around with that stupid tart. No, no_. Break _didn't mean _broken up._

"Sakura, get off the table - I can see your underwear."

"Don't look then, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Even my old ANBU buddies can see, Sakura, you're giving quite a show... Not that I'm objectionable to that idea."

Even when ridiculously drunk, she could land a decent, bone-cracking punch on his jaw for that kind of comment. It only clipped him, but she knew it would bruise. Alcohol always made her temper far more dangerous.

Suddenly, Sakura felt tired and drained. Too drained to deal with Naruto shrieking in her ear and Kakashi's perversion, and Sasuke's dark, furious eyes trying to tear away the emotional shields she had erected between them. It was so hot still - it drained her energy like nothing else.

"I have an early shift at the hospital tomorrow guys. I'm going to head home, okay?"

Naruto looked as though someone had drowned puppies in front of him, and Sasuke's glare increased tenfold. Kakashi just put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an eye-crinkling smile.

"Sure you don't want one of us to walk you home?" He said, more out of courtesy than anything else.

"Sure, sure, sure, Kakashi-sensei. Or do you need a matching bruise on the other side of your face to prove I'll be fine?" He put up his hands and slouched over to the table.

As she walked out of the tiny establishment, one of the ANBU seated in the booth near their table watched her leave - dark eyes flickering behind the omnipresent mask.

Sasuke followed – she could feel his chakra. Not sure whether she wanted to cry, or yell, or beat him to a pulp, she walked faster and had gotten half-way down the street before he caught up. Briefly, she entertained the idea of running, but decided against it. She wanted to sleep tonight in her own apartment, undisturbed by him.

"We were not done talking, Sakura," the tone of his voice was deadly.

"I think you will find you are, Ototou. Saku...ra and I have business to attend to." Said a smooth, lilting voice, cutting over her retort.

The way he caressed the word "business" suggested more the oldest business in the world than anything else. Sasuke's face turned an ugly blotchy colour she had never seen before as he whipped around.

"Aniki... Stay out of this!"

Back away slowly, Sakura. Let them fight and escape while they're distracted. Itachi's eyes snapped to her the second she took a tiny step back. This was going to get messy. The hiss of a kunai being drawn assured her of that fact. Sasuke was even more impetuous than usual when drunk.

"I can't believe you," he spat viciously, "you knew we were together!"

The underwear remark definitely backfired. Shisui was out there somewhere - laughing his soon-to-be-mutilated ass off.

"I was under the impression the two of you had separated."

That said, a pair of warm lips promptly slanted against hers and in her line of vision, she saw Sasuke's eyes blaze Sharingan red.

* * *

I completely forgot to add an author's note to this! Sometimes I think I have no brain. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! I'm a bit nervous actually because I have written very few action scenes in my time. Thanks to all the lovelies who alerted, reviewed, and favourited; you are indeed the shiz.

_Beta'd by the fabulosity that is Sakura4eva - she has mad skillz._

- Silver.


	3. Resolution

**Heatwave.**

* * *

There was a moment of shocked silence that Sakura couldn't have broken even if she wanted to. Itachi's eyes were barely slits, but she saw the almost-wicked pleasure in them. The slightest hint of sake marred his hot breath as he pressed his open-mouthed kiss to her. It was then Sakura realized that she was very drunk, not at all in control of higher brain functions, and had just been kissed by Uchiha Itachi - in front of his brother, her teammate, and her sort-of-ex-lover.

Fabulous.

Then, sparks flew in front of her eyes. Not the good, chick-flick kind of sparks that accompany the fantastic kiss you've been waiting the whole film to see... The kind of sparks made when a kunai rasps against another piece of metal so viciously that heat and light are actually produced. Then, she stumbled slightly as her body was dragged at lightning speed to the side. Being drunk and pulled along like a pose-able doll in the middle of a fight between two murderous, psychopathic Uchiha was never fun. It felt like she was going to vomit.

"_Itachi. Put. Her. Down."_

'Yes,' she thought, 'I have to agree with the asshole - I mean Sasuke… –No, on second thought, definitely 'the asshole'.'

Somehow, Itachi had pulled her to the end of the street. She could feel his large hands on her waist, covered in those scratchy gloves she had decided she hated. There was a moment when one of his thumbs moved in a circular motion that almost made her dissolve - despite the situation.

Sasuke looked livid and ... one hand clasped the wrist of his other hand. Chidori. The telltale shrill noise rang through the air as sparks of light began to form in his hand. He was going to skewer them both. She was going to end up as a _kebab, _and of all the people to end up as a kebab with … Itachi. Sakura started to wriggle a little; the hands holding her kept her far too still.

"I suggest you do not do that," He hadn't moved and seemed far too calm in the face of something that could cut lightning, "Or that you save it for somewhere more private."

Sakura turned twelve different shades of red just as Sasuke charged towards them with a roar. In order to escape she would probably have to momentarily disengage the nerves in Itachi's arms... however, considering how drunk she was she would probably sever all the tendons and cause untold damage. Hmm; screw up Itachi's arms for life and probably be killed in some horrific manner for it later, or acquire a gaping hole in her torso, courtesy of Sasuke, now.

Decisions, decisions.

She was saved from choosing as Itachi did … something. As her brain felt like soggy, leftover ramen at the moment, it was hard to tell what exactly. One minute, there were streetlights, the moon, the glow of two sets of Sharingan, and the strident light of the Chidori; the next minute, it was dark. Not the kind of hollow, trapped underground with limited oxygen, dark - that sort-of-soft, velvet dark.

Then, flashes of light broke that dark. The Chidori broke through it somewhat - whatever it was (Genjutsu, most likely). Her perfect chakra control was in ruins at the moment due to the amount of alcohol she had guzzled in the last hour. Itachi let her go then, and she stared after him; searching blindly through the darkness. Then, she saw.

The Chidori illuminated flashes of the fight: a swipe of an arm, the flexing of muscles, a blurred kick, a gout of blood being spilt. At that, Sakura shuddered. All her senses seemed to be heightened - she could smell both of their distinct, masculine scents mixed with sweat and coppery blood. It smelled almost like sex. That thought made her blanch, even as her mind carefully listened to the distinctive noises; the hisses and grunts of pain and irritation; to try and determine the loser.

There was only one thing she could do - charging in there blind was tantamount to suicide. With every intention of slamming her foot into the ground and creating a trench in their general direction, Sakura reached for her chakra. It was then she realized she couldn't move her legs at all. The soles of her feet remained planted on the earth no matter how much she tried to move him.

Another part of Itachi's genjutsu - one that made her unable to interfere in their pissing contest, and that also left her in a vulnerable position should weapons or shrapnel come her way. 'Stupid, egotistical men.' Placing her palms flat against her temples, Sakura muttered, "Kai."

The genjutsu for darkness dispelled, but she remained stuck despite further attempts. She saw Sasuke - several cuts on his cheeks, a large gash on his leg and bruises in other places - and Itachi - less noticeably injured, but shielding his stomach in a way that suggested he had been hit. There was a moment of quiet before Sasuke puffed out his cheeks and released a Katon that blackened the ground and added the heavy smell of ash to everything.

Itachi launched himself to the left and, with a speed she could barely keep up with, he threw shurikan and engaged in taijutsu again. One of the shurikan must have hit Sasuke in the wound he had already had in his leg - the one that was dangerously close to an artery. Her senses buzzed as she watched thick blood well like red velvet from them wound and his aristocratic features crumple momentarily in pain - just for a second - before smoothing.

It was odd - she had always imagined, and known Itachi to be, more of a mid-range fighter. Now, he seemed to be going far more for close combat. After a moment she realized why; his lips were moving... He was _goading_ Sasuke - getting in close to say things that seemed to be having a very marked affect. Anger and alcohol made Sasuke sloppy; he left his injured leg unguarded for a moment. Itachi took full advantage: slamming his heel into the shurikan embedded in the wound before executing several swift punches to his jaw and stomach.

"Hey, Saku-chan, looking good!"

It was Naruto, Shisui and ... Ino. Apparently, they had heard the fight from the bar and had decided to come out and watch. How she loathed them. Ino looked stunning in a pale lavender, silk shift-dress and was smiling coyly at her - in that sort of way that made her even more irritating

"Will you _stop _them? They're going to kill each other!" she exclaimed, waving her arms in their direction.

"What?" Shisui snorted. "Those are just love taps."

Naruto was swaying drunkenly, much to Ino's disgust - he never could hold his alcohol. Sakura dearly wanted to stamp her foot and yell, or - even better - go over there and stop the fight herself, but she was stuck.

"Oh, Sakura, to have two gorgeous Uchiha dreamboats fighting over you... You've finally bloomed." Ino sighed, flicking her hair.

"Yes, Saku-dearest, you are the luckiest girl in the world." Shisui mock-sighed, flicking his hair.

At that moment, Sakura prayed to any God that was listening to ensure that those two never got together in any way, shape or form. Naruto ambled over to her, hiccupping and looking irritatingly endearing as he did so, before throwing an arm around her neck a little too heavily.

"They're not annoying you, are they, Sakura-chan?" Naruto addressed her cleavage with the sincerest concern.

"Either break this Genjutsu or–"

"_I'll fucking kill you!" _Yelled Sasuke, stealing her words entirely.

Shisui's head snapped around so quickly, Sakura was sure it must have hurt. He watched intently for a moment as Sasuke unleashed several rather large snakes in his brother's general direction along with a few choice Katons that were sure to cause some damage to the surrounding buildings.

Inwardly, Sakura shuddered in disgust - she hated snakes. Sasuke almost never used the disgusting scaly things; he hated to remind everyone of his brief defection from Konoha during which he actually trained with _Orochimaru,_ before he wandered back, beaten, feverish, and with a hell of a lot more jutsu three months later.

Using his trademark speed, Shisui was over there in a second, with his arm around Sasuke's neck and shooting a warning look at Itachi. Naruto followed, stumbling and yelling quite loudly about family and some other incoherent things. Ino took this as an opportunity to hiss in Sakura's ear a very important question she had obviously been waiting to say.

"Hey, Forehead… Is Shisui seeing anyone?"

"Ino, this is _not_ the time. If ever it was the time - this was _not _it, Sakura hissed back. "–And, for Kami's sake, will you break this jutsu?"

"Hey! You're going to get some from," Here, Ino waved a dismissive hand in the general direction of the destruction and completely ignoring Sakura's polite request, "Either Sasuke, or his brother… or even _both_ (ohh, you'd have to give me all the details for that!). So, why shouldn't I get in on the Uchiha action?"

Typical Ino; everything made into, relating to, or leading up to an orgy.

"No, he's not seeing anyone."

The look of glee on her features was terrifying. Obviously whatever Gods she had asked to stop them from getting together had chosen not to listen. Sakura found she could move her feet without Ino's assistance, effectively breaking the genjutsu. Looking over at Itachi, she smiled in a way that would have made her teammates very nervous.

"Itachi," she called out, pretending to be the oblivious to the way Sasuke stiffened and Shisui tightened his grip on his shoulders, "Didn't we have some _business_ to discuss?"

… … …

They were alone, again, and she was drunk. Inwardly, Sakura questioned her own logic in demanding to speak to him and effectively ensuring that anyone who could help was long gone. Itachi looked bored, but he always looked like that; just like Sasuke. She winced slightly at that - having sobered up enough to feel guilty about hurting Sasuke's feelings and having him pummeled by his vicious elder brother.

Not that he didn't partially deserve, or run straight into, said pummeling.

"Look, I'd appreciate if you didn't … goad Sasuke like that."

Itachi raised an eyebrow and looked for a second like he was going to start stalking forward and invading her personal space like he seemed fond of doing. Thankfully, he didn't. She was having a hard enough time concentrating as it was.

"Goad him _how_, exactly, Sakura?" He was enjoying this, she could tell.

"By… Oh, you know how!"

"Enlighten me."

"By," she was blushing like a damn schoolgirl! "Kissing me. And saying … whatever it was you were saying while you two were fighting!"

There was a moment of silence while he regarded her carefully. That omnipresent tingle of foreboding she had been feeling came back full force when she realized he had set up the mood, monitoring chakra in the air between them again.

"So, you are saying that you dislike me angering Sasuke?" His words were careful and considered.

The foreboding tingle increased tenfold.

"Yes." _And I dislike you deliberately angering me, too._

"Not that you disliked my kissing you, only that it was to deliberately annoy Sasuke?"

"Yes," Sakura said confidently, before immediately backpedalling, "No, no! No, I disliked the whole thing."

She felt the scratchy material of his gloves rubbing the delicate skin of her inner wrist and shuddered slightly against her will. Sober enough to recognize that displaying such reactions were wrong, and drunk enough to not be able stop them. They were at the door to her apartment building where he stepped back and let her go as she fiddled with her keys.

"If it makes you feel any better," he began quietly, "I kissed you primarily for my own satisfaction."

Whatever witty retort she might have made was lost when he disappeared infuriatingly in a cloud of pale smoke. Sakura banged her head on the door hopelessly, wishing she had drunk herself into a stupor earlier and not had to deal with them.

And, really, it did not make her feel any better and send tingles down her spine that had nothing to do with foreboding.

… … …

Standing in the middle of a gloriously air-conditioned changing room, Sakura felt calmer than she had in an age. Until Ino thrust back the heavy velvet curtain and stepped inside; one arm heaped with complicated looking straps and multitudes of lace in colours that wouldn't look out of place in a circus. She began to arrange them (this with this; that with that; this on it's own) and then swept back out in a matter of seconds.

"Pink first, Forehead."

Sakura turned to regard the line-up. Shades ranging from what she guessed was coral, to cerise, to an almost mauve colour stared brazenly at her from the pink side of the line. After a moment she just picked the least complex one and carefully stripped off. The straps crossed strangely over her back and took a moment to get on, but it was quite pretty. (Might be hard to take off quickly as well - she stopped that line of thought as soon as it started).

"Ready-" Ino yanked open the curtain without waiting for her to finish. "That's not the one I meant... But it's too matchy-matchy with your hair anyway. _Next."_

They moved from pinks to greens then purples. Ino was vicious and completely ruthless. Out of what seemed like a hundred different pairings, she only approved five.

"What dress are you planning on wearing tomorrow for your _hot date_?"

"The red v-neck one, Pig"

"With the rose cut-outs at the hem?"

"Uh-huh."

"There's a nice matching set that would suit - red rose motifs and lace. Want to try it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Pass it in."

"Red's probably a good choice. They all love red."

"Shut up."

… … …

Lying in a cold bath with her leg slung over the edge of the tub, Sakura felt sick. The cause of this sickness was not one that could be eradicated by a small flicker of medical chakra, unfortunately, but a well-placed punch might have done the trick. Sighing heavily, she considered getting out and starting to get ready. It was strange how nervous she felt. A date... _No_, this wasn't a date – just a meeting. She was just a convenience.

Lifting her head from where it was propped against the end of the tub, she stared at her fluffy towels for a moment before lifting herself from the water. Afterwards, Sakura spent some time sitting in her underwear, carefully applying nail polish to her fingers and toes, plucking her eyebrows, drying her hair, and applying the fancy, expensive, wonderful-smelling moisturizer her mother was always forcing on her that she never used.

Feeling very calm, she breezed through into the bedroom and slid into her dress... Or, rather, pulled it halfway up her thighs, caught a glimpse of the clock in her bedroom and screamed bloody murder. He was coming in two minute - _two minutes!_ Yanking the dress up enough that it would stay on by itself, Sakura stepped into the bathroom and glared at the clock in there which had apparently stopped without her noticing.

Scrabbling for her zip, she pulled it up and stumbled in the general direction of her shoes and jewelry. One earring caught in her hair, the other refused to go in, the necklace had a slippery, fiddly catch that was impossible to do in a rush, and not only that – her beloved all-purpose black heels were a jumble of hideously-complicated straps.

The doorbell rang.

She hissed curses.

Sakura knew that, if she didn't answer the door immediately, Itachi would probably simply crawl through the window/air vent regardless of what state she was in. She elected to answer the door and save herself any lecture of his about how easy it was to break into her home.

"My clock stopped and I'm running late," she spat out, trying to wiggle one foot into her high heel and brush her hair at the same time.

A calloused hand caught the sensitive skin behind the joint of her knee and tugged her so that she overbalanced and flopped back onto one of her armchairs. Her big toe flicked by nose as she lashed out on reflex. The slightly startled face he made was amusing. His long fingers quickly went to work unbuckling the shoe and angling her foot to slide into it, before working the complicated straps around her flesh.

Sakura's center of logic shut down for a moment as her mind took on the sole pleasure of viewing Uchiha Itachi in a suit. Then a small, gibbering part sighed in appreciation at the way his fingers seemed to have lingered at the delicate arch of her foot and brushed teasingly over her ankle and calve.

"Brush your hair, Sakura," he said, quietly.

For a moment, it was a blissful scene of apparent domestic harmony; despite the fact they hadn't been on a date, never mind lived together…

Then, there was a loud, sullen knock on the door. Sullen, because it sounded as though her "visitor" had kicked the door rather than knocked on it. Itachi's fingers paused at her skin as he recognized the chakra signal that had just slammed her in the face like a ton of bricks.

"You did not inform my younger brother that you would be attending this event with me."

Somewhere between the kissing and the fighting it had completely slipped her mind… Itachi actually sounded somewhat _irritated_ and that really didn't bode well - not at all. Oh, damn… Her apartment had just been decorated recently as well - nothing like a giant ash smear from a Katon to brighten things up.

"No, I didn't," Sakura admitted quietly.

As well as feeling horribly sheepish, she felt really very annoyed. Sasuke was such a presumptuous bastard! After everything – them breaking up, and her kissing his brother – he still just assumed she would be going with him. Sitting up, she straightened her dress and puffed herself up, fully ready to throw her stupid teammate through the window and give him a good kicking.

Then her brilliant green eyes fell on her lovely, creamy new rug and the painstakingly painted walls that were sure to be ruined in the impending fight.

"Want to sneak out the fire exit?"

Itachi gave her a somewhat devious smirk that sent a lightning bolt of heat straight to her stomach.

"Let's."

...

The first fifteen minutes or so went very well. Itachi offered her an arm - Sasuke usually just sulked beside her - and they walked in together looking like an actual, proper couple. So much so, that Mikoto began shooting looks at them that really didn't sit well with Sakura when she thought they weren't looking. Those looks clearly said 'Future daughter in law and prospective bearer of grandchildren'.

Itachi had to rub salt in her wounds in his own unique way. "My mother is very fond of you."

Factoring in his understatement of everything, and he was basically saying 'Yes, she will probably shoot you with a drugged dart and drag you off to a wedding with me, or Sasuke, in the near future.'

"Mikoto has always been very good to Naruto and I - the bentos she used to make us were to die for."

He made an amused noise as he began to discreetly steer her towards the dance floor. Sakura noticed, of course, but felt a little bit nervous again.

Sasuke loathed dancing – he just didn't do it. Itachi–

She really had to stop making comparisons... Even if he did know how to lead very well, and held her waist just tight enough for it to feel intimate and not choking, and had finally taken off those horrific gloves so all that she could feel beneath his hands was warm, calloused skin.

"This is kind of … nice." The blushing-schoolgirl feeling slammed back full force.

Itachi leaned in until his curiously cool breath brushed over her ear. An outsider might have thought it looked as though they were embracing; instead he spoke quietly into her ear. The hushed, silky whisper affected her more than he might have realized.

"It is pleasant – I'll remember you like this." Sakura was glad he couldn't see her face.

"Why are we whispering?" she muttered back, knowing he would hear the smile in her voice.

His hand tightened on her waist until she was achingly aware of just how thin the fabric of her dress was. "The Hyuuga, Shisui…"

"Ahh."

She wanted to ask what would happen when Sasuke arrived, but couldn't bring herself to. Spending time with him was far more pleasant that she might have wanted to admit. Especially when he began stroking her waist and the top of her thigh in a discreet motion that was anything but unconscious. Sakura was aware of the many eyes that were continually watching them; Byakugan and Sharingan would pick up their every move. Inwardly, she was slightly surprised by Itachi displaying an action that could be described as territorial.

"Sasuke is approaching... If he enters, I cannot promise not to _goad_ him."

Though she had actually been looking forward to this party, deep, deep, _deep_ down, Sakura suddenly wanted nothing more than to run away. She was fearless on the battlefield and uncompromising in the operating room, but dealing with emotions and relationships? – Downright terrifying, thus the urge to flee.

Instead she opted to laugh nervously and squeeze his bicep in a way she hoped felt re-assuring, rather than panicky. "That's nothing to worry about... It's not like we're together."

"You think I am not courting you?" His voice was low and dangerous.

Sakura spluttered in response, "Well… I… _No. _We haven't even been on a date and I thought you just brought me to this because I wouldn't rub myself all over you all night and expect you to call me later."

The line of his thin lips tightened for a moment in what she thought was anger.

"I would not be adverse to you rubbing yourself all over me."

She gaped. Flat out gaped.

"Perhaps you need a demonstration of how little I would mind?"

… In front of his mother? His clan? The Hyuuga? One look at his face and she _knew_ he would, because – unlike normal people – he just didn't seem to get mortified about anything and she was quickly learning that he really was quite territorial.

"Another time, maybe," she managed to squeak out.

Itachi looked contemplative for a moment – a long, terrifying moment – before his dark eyes drifted back down to her with a steely look that spoke of a recently made decision. Without a word, he began steering her towards the buffet table that had been wafting seductive smells towards her since she had arrived. Feeling somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place, Sakura glanced at him while he intently piled food onto a plate and also watched the door for signs of Sasuke's arrival.

Without a word, he placed a hand on her back – a little too low for her to be entirely comfortable with – and began to gently push her out into the lantern-strewn garden. It was warmer outside – the clammy heat becoming a usual feature as the heat wave dragged on.

"Where are we even going?" she called after him, as he slunk behind some bushes to a bench she hadn't known was there.

"A date usually constitutes of two individuals sharing a meal."

'Thank you for the dictionary definition, Itachi, I'm really as airheaded as this pink hair makes me look,' Sakura thought acidly. It really was infuriatingly romantic out here - with the soft glow of the lanterns, and the heady smells of the many flowers that filled the garden.

She watched in a detached sort of way as he took off his suit jacket and spread it out on the stone bench - presumably for her to sit on. Her heart gave an unexpected pang.

In the animal world, many courtships were sealed with food. When a female accepted an offering of food from a male she accepted everything; his protection, his ability to care for their young … she became a _mate_.

Somehow she knew, innately, that if she accepted this and sat down with him, that would be it. Itachi didn't do things halfway. It hit her suddenly, nauseatingly, that they barely knew each other and she didn't know why he suddenly wanted her.

"Why are you doing this?" She must have looked stricken, because he frowned at her.

In the darkness, his hair and eyes became little more than shadows, but his pale face almost magnified the dim light.

"I acknowledged my attraction for you some time ago," he said, matter-of-factly, "But I do not touch what is not mine."

The day in the shop with Shuya, and Itachi's use of that infuriating nickname was a month after she had broken up with Sasuke - but Itachi would just have returned from a mission. She knew because she had watched Shishou fill out the mission forms. She remembered the way he had clutched her arms when she had almost ran into him and felt the heat of the gaze that hadn't quite registered at the time.

"I remember..." he paused, momentarily, "... I remember that I was first aware of you properly on my foolish little brother's birthday – of all times." He sounded almost bitter.

"You smiled brightly, without guile, and your laugh... I remember. Perhaps, it was just the fact that I had just returned from a two month long mission with almost no human contact, but your being seemed amplified. And then, Shisui brought you to heal me and you regarded me as you would a man – not an Uchiha. You were free, and I am not a fool."

It was the most she had ever heard him speak, even though he did so almost to himself.

She sat down and took a bite of the delicious looking tempura he had brought. Anything she might have said seemed inadequate. High above their heads, there was a deep, echoing rumble of thunder in the air, like the roar of some great beast. Fat droplets of warm rain began to fall shortly afterwards – stopping only when they struck her hastily erected chakra shield. Itachi chose that moment to reach for her and pluck a grain of rice from her cheek.

The sight of him licking it off his fingers with his agile tongue caused her shield to drop and rain to splatter them both.

"I believe your chakra control could use a little work, Saku-chan."

Furious beyond belief, she turned and pressed her mouth to his in what amounted to little more than a clash of teeth and noses. He almost seemed surprised, but then smoothly took control and made her completely forget why she had been angry in the first place. The rain made his white shirt stick to his skin and she was sure she was a mess of stringy hair, clingy clothes, and smudged make-up.

Itachi didn't seem to mind – that smug, arrogant, unflappable being that he was. She couldn't believe he wanted her – had wanted her for some time now.

Tentatively, she ran a hand over his chest and felt his strong, steady heartbeat beneath her hand. He breathed heavily through his nose before exhaling sharply - his eyes burned brightly in the darkness; two sharp pinpoints of light.

"I think that you should tell Sasuke," she said, as he watched her suddenly the way a predator would watch prey. "About _us. _I'd like for this to work. I'd like to try."

She wasn't sure if this was just a rebound, and she knew that she found him infuriating and barely knew him to start with. But he was perceptive, intelligent, and always interesting. Maybe Shisui had been right, damn him; maybe she just wouldn't work with someone who wasn't a ninja. Her mind flickered back to the present, where he was placing hot kisses on her palm and the inside of her wrist.

"Very well," he spoke against her skin, "But you have to tell Shisui."

"I hate you," she said, abruptly.

Moving to her neck, he dropped a chaste kiss on the sensitive skin behind her ear and let out a quiet sound of amusement. "I know."

"'Tachi-chan," she added.

Behind them the large, fragrant bushes shook slightly with barely restrained peals of laughter - one very feminine and easily recognizable, and one deep and masculine. Ino and Shisui.

Revenge was sweet.

...

...

* * *

Last one guys! Wow, this took longer to finish than I had expected (I really should have factored exams into that guesstimate). The ice that inspired this has melted here now and it's actually quite warm!

Hope you enjoyed what amounts to pointless AU fluff,

Silver.

_Beta'd by the ever fabulous Sakura4eva._


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